US lawsuit claims ‘King of Beers’ is watered down

AFP, WASHINGTON

Thu, Feb 28, 2013 - Page 7

The makers of Budweiser faced accusations on Tuesday of watering down the lager in search of higher profits, in a class action lawsuit rejected by the brewery.

The beer-drinking plaintiffs alleged that Anheuser-Busch is violating consumer protection laws in California and Missouri by “falsely representing the alcohol content of the products it sells.”

The lawsuit, which demands unspecified “compensatory damages” for anyone in the US who has bought Budweiser products in the past five years, was filed in US District Court in San Francisco on Friday.

“I think it’s wrong for huge corporations to lie to their loyal customers,” one of the plaintiffs, Nina Giampaoli, said in a press release on Tuesday from the Mills Law Firm, one of two firms involved in the lawsuit. “I really feel cheated. No matter what the product is, people should be able to rely on the information companies put on their labels.”

From its headquarters in Saint Louis, Missouri, Anheuser-Busch rejected the allegations.

“The claims against Anheuser-Busch are completely false and these lawsuits are groundless. Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws,” said Peter Kraemer, its vice president of brewing and supply.

The lawsuit alleges that Anheuser-Busch can produce “a significantly higher number of units of beer from the same starting batch of ingredients” by watering down its product.

“As a result, Anheuser-Busch’s customers are overcharged for watered-down beer and Anheuser-Busch is unjustly enriched by the additional volume it can sell,” it says.

Besides Budweiser, which is marketed as “the King of Beers” with 5 percent alcohol by volume, the lawsuit alleges that Anheuser-Busch waters down nine other brands, including Bud Ice, Bud Light Platinum and Michelob.